Prescription medications are strictly monitored in hospitals and other medical facilities to prevent overmedication and illegal distribution of such medications. However, patients are also prescribed medications to be taken at home in an unsupervised manner. When unsupervised, it is not uncommon for a patient to miss a dose of medication. Alternatively, more tragically, when unsupervised, a patient can mistakenly overdose on a prescribed medication because he/she forgot they already took a dose.
Patients can obtain prescription medications from pharmacies where the medications are provided in pill packs or bottles. Pill packs are prepared by drug manufacturers. Pill bottles, on the other hand, are used by pharmacies for various pills by different manufacturers. Some pill bottles are equipped with child safety lock mechanisms to prevent children from accessing the medication. However, adults can still access the medication in an uncontrolled manner; thus, adults can still mistakenly overdose on a prescribed medication, especially the elderly.
For example, patients experiencing moderate to severe acute or chronic pain can be prescribed opioids. Opioids are psychoactive chemicals that bind to opioid receptors found in the central and peripheral nervous systems to produce an analgesic (painkilling) effect. Opioids are used as painkillers because patients taking them experience a decreased perception of and reaction to pain and an increase in pain tolerance. Some patients taking opioids also take over-the-counter (OTC) drugs to produce similar therapeutic effects and overmedication can occur. Patients can also overmedicate by taking their medications at shorter intervals than prescribed. Overmedication can cause unintended side effects including death. In 2008, there were 14,800 deaths from prescription painkiller abuse in the United States alone. CDC, Vital Signs: Overdoses of Prescription Opioid Pain Relievers—United States, 1999-2008. MMWR 2011; 60: 1-6. The number of deaths by prescription medication in 2008 was higher than that of cocaine and heroin overdose deaths in the same year. Id.
The fact that prescription medications can be addictive adds to the problem of having prescription medications distributed in an uncontrolled manner. Opioids, for example, produce a strong feeling of euphoria in addition to the painkilling effect, which causes patients and consumers alike to use opioids illegally. Recreational prescription drug use is an ever growing problem.
Others have attempted to prevent overmedication. U.S. Pat. No. 7,719,927 (Robinson et al.) describes a disposable pill bottle including a disposable cap permanently conjoined to the bottle. The disposable pill bottle further includes a locking actuator, alarm, and counter, which are electrically powered. The device keeps track of the time between dosages and alerts the patient with an audible alarm when it is time to medicate. Unfortunately, when the bottle is open, a patient can access all the medication within the bottle; thus, the possibility of unintentional overmedication or illegal distribution still exists. Additionally, since the device is electrically powered, a dead battery could prevent a patient from receiving their medication.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,722,739 (Blumberg) describes an entirely mechanical means for dispensing pills one-at-a-time after a period of time. The device aims to prevent the premature dispensing of pills. The device is generally circular and has an annular ring of pockets for pills. Additionally, the device includes two annular members that cover the ring of pockets and windows, which register to expose any one pocket. The device is controlled by a timing mechanism, which prevents movement of the inner of the members into register with a further pocket until a pre-set time interval has expired. However, a patient can easily access all the medication contained within the device by simply opening it; thus, the possibility of unintentional overmedication still exists.
Therefore, there is a long-felt need for a pill dispenser that dispenses one pill during a time interval and prevents dispensing and unfettered access until the time interval has elapsed. Additionally, there is a long-felt need for such a pill dispenser that is purely mechanical. A pill dispenser having a removable sleeve is needed so that pharmacists can refill prescriptions and fill new prescriptions using the same device with a new sleeve. Such a pill dispenser that can be adapted to deliver pills of any size is needed. Additionally, a pill dispenser having a hermetic seal to prevent unauthorized access is needed. A pill dispenser having an integrated timer arranged to be set to a time interval and means for alerting a person that the timer has been set to the timer interval and that the time interval has elapsed is needed.